Dr Pep Canadell, from the Global Carbon Project, has published research that says that deforestation will release between 87-130 billion tonnes of carbon over the next century – more than will be released by the use of fossil fuels over the next 13 years.
However, he has said that cutting tropical deforestation by half by 2050 would stop 50 billion tonnes of carbon emissions being released into the atmosphere, the equivalent of six years of fossil fuel use.
“The new body of information shows considerable value in preserving tropical forests, such as those in the Amazon and Indonesia, as carbon sinks,” said Dr Canadell.
“This study ensures we have a sound scientific basis behind the consideration of deforestation reduction.”
Scientists from the UK, US, Brazil and France compared 11 climate-carbon computer models to generate the results, which also showed that tropical forests were less useful as carbon sinks at higher temperatures, further evidence of the need to negate global warming, according to Dr Canadell.
